(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010-06)
Wells, Grant; Dutta, Soumyo; Mattson, Sarah; Lisano, Michael
This investigation looked into determining Phoenix’s
position using an image taken by the University of
Arizona’s High Resolution Imaging Science
Experiment camera. The objective was to test how
accurately a position for the lander could be
determined during entry, descent, and landing to
provide an alternate means of position determination
independent of Phoenix navigation data or Phoenix
telemetry in the event of the spacecraft’s on-board
inertial measurement unit failing or a communications
breakdown that prevented the return of the data.